Huntington Man Pleads Guilty To Major Federal Heroin Charge

Dealer busted with more than a kilo of heroin, hundreds of Rx pills; faces at least 10 years in federal prison

Huntington, W.Va. – United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Alvester Thomas pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 1000 grams or more of heroin.  Agents with the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force found the heroin in a safe inside the home that Thomas shared with Kristen Michelle Graley at 3008 Rear Third Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia.  Graley has pleaded guilty to related drug charges.  Thomas admitted that the heroin was his and that he intended to sell it in the Huntington area.  In addition to the heroin, agents seized 545 oxycodone pills, 73 oxymorphone pills, additional amounts of heroin in the living room of the home, and approximately three pounds of marijuana. Agents also recovered a gun from the kitchen of the home and approximately $17,230 in United States currency. 

Thomas faces 10 years to life imprisonment and a $10,000,000 fine.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2014, by the Honorable Robert C. Chambers. 

This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.  Assistant United States Attorney Greg McVey is responsible for the prosecution.